tokyo olympics

Suni Lee Secures Olympic Gold in All-Around Gymnastics

Sunisa “Suni†Lee Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Sunisa “Suni†Lee won herself a gold medal in all-around gymnastics at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics this morning. The 18-year-old from Minnesota is the fifth consecutive gymnast from the United States to win the all-around following Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas, and the GOAT, Simone Biles. Rebecca Andrade of Brazil won silver, earning Brazil their first medal in gymnastics. Lee makes history as the first-ever Hmong American Olympian and undoubtedly makes her parents proud. While families were not allowed at the Ariake Gymnastics Center in Tokyo to watch them compete, Lee’s family watched from home. Her father, John Lee, was able to see her compete in-person at the Olympic Trials, one of the few times he’s been able to since suffering an accident in 2019 that left him paralyzed. Suni Lee trained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite experiencing two losses from the deadly virus. While she may have thought her Olympic journey would end with her in second place to Simone Biles, when Biles made the personal decision to step back from the team and all-around finals, she made room for her teammates’ Olympic dreams to come true, too. Of course, the team leader and greatest gymnast of all time was the loudest voice in the gym today, cheering on gymnasts from every country, according to tweets from Tokyo. Watch Suni Lee’s family watch her make sports history, and try not to cry along.

Suni Lee Secures Olympic Gold in All-Around Gymnastics